CHAPTER 14
As I promised you, I am back with the last chapter of this volume. This is my Christmas present to all of you, the resolution of this story. So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Blessed Yule to you all. Now here is chapter fourteen. Enjoy, everypony.
I opened my eyes. My eyelids felt like lead, and I had the sensation you always get when you have to wake up from only an hour or two of sleep. I felt a heaviness throughout my body, in fact...a feeling like I was made of stone instead of flesh and blood. My eyes finally opened, and I had to close them again, against the light that hurt them. I blinked a few times, and my vision started to clear. I found myself looking up at a white ceiling, and heard a steady rhythmic beeping from somewhere close. I tried to talk, but all that came out was a choked grunt.
"Drake?" A familiar voice squeaked. "Sweetie?" I slowly turned my head to see Rainbow Dash leaned over my bed, worry in her magenta eyes.
"Daasssh..." I whispered hoarsely. She looked around the room, and the next thing I knew, my marefriend was holding a glass of water to my lips. It was good, cool and refreshing, and I drank greedily, spilling some on myself.
"Easy...take it easy, Drake..." Dash said comfortingly. She took the water away.
"Where...where am I?" I asked, my thirst gone, and my ability to speak returned.
"You're in the hospital...in Canterlot." Dash answered. I thought for a moment. I had been in the cave near the Crystal Empire. Now, I was in Canterlot. How? Dashie must have seen the confusion on my face. She gently caressed my forehead.
"You had a heart attack..." She said. "Well, that's what the doctors say...that it was a pretty bad heart attack..." It all suddenly donned on me now.
"Sombra!" I exclaimed, trying to sit up. The beeping became faster. Rainbow Dash pushed me back onto the mattress.
"Chillax...alright? Sombra's gone. You beat him. He went back into his horn, and Celestia made sure he'd never come back again." As I thought about what my marefriend had told me, she looked back and nodded to somepony.
"Gone?" I repeated. "How the Hell did I beat him? I don't remember anything..."
"You died..." Another voice I could never mistake said sadly. Budder stepped up beside Dash, and put her forehooves on mine. She had tears in her blue-gray eyes, and her mane was a mess. "You actually died, Bubby..." She added, then sniffed.
"But..."
"Daring was able to ressustinate you or whatever." Dash said. I had to smile at her attempt at the word. "If she didn't know CPR, we would have lost you..."
"Where is she now?" I asked. "Daring Do?"
"She had to leave on another assignment a few days ago." Dashie replied. "She said if you woke up, to tell you that she's glad she was able to work with you...um...she saved you, so you're even now, and that you're everything she'd heard you were and more."
"Well...that was awful nice of her..." I said, trying to chuckle a bit, and ending up coughing. I felt tired, very tired. It was becoming harder to think, but...wait...did she say a few days? "How long..."
"You've been out for like over a week..." Dashie said softly. I tried to process that. Too tired. I felt myself drifting off.
"Sleep, Drake." Dash whispered.
"Yeah, you need it, Bubby." My sister added. I closed my eyes, and before I drifted off, I felt two kisses, one on the lips and another on the cheek.
I woke up, and found myself still laying in the hospital bed. I was still tired, but not as worn out as I had felt the first time I had come to. It was very dim in the room. I looked to my right, and out the window, I could see that it was evening, near sunset. How long had I been asleep? A glass of water rested on a table nearby, and I grabbed it and drained most of it before realizing for the first time the IV needles in my left foreleg. Of course...they had me on a saline drip...
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Drake." Somepony stated. I sat the glass back down, and turned my head to the left. In the shadows of the room, I could make out the gray face, the single blue eye, and the red part of the unicorn's mane.
"Shadow." I greeted. She stepped closer, and seemed to hesitate a moment before moving up to my bed. The assassin cocked her head a bit, then looked away a moment.
"Sorry dude...just don't like seein' you like this..." She commented. "And hospitals always kinda give me the fuckin' creeps..."
"Somethin' actually gives you the creeps..." I said with a smile. She scoffed.
"Come back from the dead, and you're still a smart ass..." She said back with a smile that showed her fangs. Just as quickly, the smile faded. "Guess we have that in common now, huh?" She asked. "We both came back somehow..."
"Yeah." I sighed.
"Small club we got." She said with a small shrug. "When I heard you were awake...I thought I'd come and visit, you know?" She explained. She rolled her eye. "Ugh...fuck...alright...I've been here like every day since you got here. I think you ruined me, Drake...Heh. Oh, and uh...I've been hangin' out with Budder to keep her from fuckin' losing it. Ain't been easy. That kid worships the ground you walk on, you know that?"
"I know..." I muttered. "Thank you, Shadow." I added solemnly. "Thank you for taking care of her." The undead teenager shot me a lackluster stare.
"What are families for, Drake?" She replied. I gave her a smile. "Anyway...I'm glad you're alright. I'm gonna come visit ya when you get out of here, so plan on that." She huffed a short sigh. "Somepony else is waiting outside to see you. I'll tell her you're awake." Another little smile. "See ya, Drake." She walked out of the room, and I heard the door close. A few moments later, I heard it open again, and looked to see who my mystery guest was. Princess Celestia walked up to my bed, a look of sadness on her face.
"Hello, my dear Drake..." She greeted softly. "I trust you are feeling better?"
"Yeah...I can actually feel something now, so I guess that's an improvement..." I tried to joke. She looked down for a second.
"I am sorry to have sent you on this terrible mission." She said. "I cannot believe that I nearly lost you...that your family almost lost you..."
"Hey, it's alright Princess..." I returned comfortingly. "We got the bad guy, didn't we?"
"Yes...yes we did." She answered. "And Sombra will no longer pose a threat to anypony. Never again. I made certain of that this time."
"Now that makes me feel better." I stated.
"Now as for you," She began. "I'm sure you have questions about what happened to you between your...incident and now."
"Yeah...come to think of it, I would like to figure that one out." I scoffed.
"You were possessed by the spirit of Sombra...fully...posessed, Drake." Celestia said. I sighed. "But I do not think he counted on your ability to fight...or what you had to fight for. According to the others, there was a terrible battle raging inside of you for some time. I understand from my sister that you have had some...problems with your heart in the past couple of years?"
"Yeah, I guess the old ticker ain't what it used to be..." I commented.
"Well as the battle for your body raged, it apparently began to wear you down physically. It all culminated with your heart finally giving out. You went into full cardiac arrest. Awful for you, my dear detective, but your heart stopping caused Sombra's essence to reenter his horn, where he was trapped yet again."
"Dash told me it was Daring Do that brought me back." I said, remembering what my marefriend had said earlier.
"Yes. It is very fortunate she was there. She was able to give you first aid immediately. Free from the threat of Sombra and his followers, She and your sister stayed with you while Rainbow Dash journeyed through a snowstorm back to the Crystal Empire. Princess Cadence dispatched a medivac team and sent for me immediately. It is a miracle we were able to keep you alive until you made it to the hospital."
"And here I am..." I finished. "Thank you, princess..."
"For what? Rushing to your aid? Why would I not?" Celestia replied. "You are my friend and my own gallant soldier. I must take care of you. Speaking of which...because of what you and your family have suffered during this assignment, I have decided to give you what you may call...hazard pay." I rolled my eyes. "Sixty thousand bits for your services. In addition, Rainbow Dash and Budder shall receive twenty thousand bits each. Is that acceptable?"
"A hundred thousand...bits?" I tasted the words as I said them, then looked into Celestia's eyes. "Are you tryin' to give me another heart attack, Your Highness?"
"Well..." She said, giving me a small grin for a moment. "You will no doubt need time to fully recover, and I wanted you and your family to be financially secure until then. I also took the liberty of paying up all of your bills for the rest of the year. Princess Cadence was asking what she could do to repay you, and after some questioning as to your particular...tastes, she sent you a crate of coffee from her kingdom...and she made you a knight of the Crystal Empire."
"Huh...SIR Dragoon Saber..." I stated. "Don't think I could ever get used to that." Celestia giggled. She looked out the window as the moon rose over the horizon. "I see my sister has raised the moon for the evening...she'll be wanting to see you now. I will fetch her." The princess leaned in close. "If there is anything else you need, call upon me at once."
"I will, Your Highness." I nodded. She smiled and left the room. I had already sort of figured how the next visit would begin, and I was mostly right.
"Oh Drake...my dearest friend..." Luna said sadly, walking up to my bedside. "It is so awful to see you in this state..."
"I think I'll be alright, milady." I said reassuringly. She leaned in and gave me a gentle hug.
"Yes...now." She returned. "But you have no idea how worried I have been for you." She squeaked. "I was afraid that I had lost you..." She pulled back, and I could see tears running down her cheeks. "I do wish you didn't have to go on these dangerous missions...Drake..." I embraced my friend and she cried into my shoulder for a few moments. "I doth know that it is your heart that troubles you." She said. "But I beg of you, my dearest friend...do not break my heart by leaving me."
"I plan on sticking around for a long time." I said. "For Dashie and Budder...and for you. You know...my friends and family is really what kept Sombra from being able to take over my mind. I had more to lose than he had to gain." She nodded in understanding, and I didn't have to explain. What did he have to gain by coming back? The world? What good is owning the world if you don't have ponies you love to share it with? I already had the world, and that was something somepony like him could never understand.
"We all had more to lose than he had to gain." Luna countered. She exhaled sadly. "Drake?"
"Yeah, Luna?"
"No more of these dangerous missions?" She asked gravely. Before I could protest, she continued. "I spoke of this with my sister, and she concurs. Your health has grown worse of late, and we are concerned that these assignments are too strenuous for you now."
"But milady..." I argued. "Who can do these jobs if I don't?"
"Well, because of you, we now have better police agencies. Your techniques have been adopted by many of our agencies, Drake. Rusty Shackleford, in an attempt to be as good at crime detection as his rival, has become quite the good investigator. These paranormal cases that have become so problematic for you, let me and your sister handle those matters. And for the more sensitive cases, we now have Shadow."
"You know I would miss the chase." I said.
"You wouldn't be out of the game you love so much, Drake. I promise you that. We still need your advise in all manner of criminal problems, and of course you can still investigate criminal cases personally. I don't want you to give up on what you love doing, my friend...I only ask that you take a step back from the type of deadly and dangerous situations which have landed you here..."
"Well..." I sighed. "Do I have a choice in this?" Luna grinned playfully.
"I could restrict your movements by promoting you to colonel, and placing over the entire CID." She threatened with a smile. "It seems that could be the only way to...tie you down..." She blushed immediately. "Oh...I didn't mean...what did I say? Tie you down? I meant to say..."
"I know what you meant." I chuckled. "Of course I'm gonna have to give in on this one. I'll lay back and take it easy...at least for a while."
"Thank you, Drake..." Luna said, sounding relieved. She hugged me close. "Now I don't have to worry about you so much! So many sleepless days...Drake?" She pulled away from me, and for a moment, the princess of the night and I looked into each others' eyes.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I know that you...um...you have already given me your answer...some time ago." She whispered. "And I will continue to respect that. But almost losing you like this...I must say something before one day I awake...and realize that I no longer can do so."
"What?" I asked curiously. Luna leaned in and kissed my forehead gently. Then, with tears in her eyes, she stood and looked away.
"I love you, Drake." She said in a low voice. "I have been in love with you since we first met. I can have my choice of many stallions...but I know in my heart that I belong to you...even if I can never have you." She gave a sad smile as she looked at the floor. "You mean so much to me...and if I must continue worshiping you from afar, so be it...but yes, Drake...I love you, and I just needed to say that."
"I admire your honesty." I said. "It took guts to say that, Luna...and I understand why you did." She smiled warmly. "You're my best friend, milady. Outside of Dash and Budder...I mean...damnit..." Luna giggled at my consternation. "You mean a lot to me too, Luna. I may not love you the way you love me...but I do love you."
"Thank you, Drake." She returned. "Once you are home, I will come visit you if that is okay."
"You are always welcome in my home, Luna." I answered with a smile.
"I will see you soon then, my dearest friend." She said. "I believe your family should be here now. I do not want to keep them from you. Farewell for now, Drake. Get well soon."
"I will." I nodded. Luna left the room.
"Bubby!" My sister exclaimed, running up to the bed. "Are you okay now?"
"Almost." I answered with a smile, hugging Budder. "A couple more days of rest, and we'll be riding mattresses down the staircase again."
"No...no riding mattresses down the stairs again!" Dash countered, reaching my bed. "Last time, you broke the..." She sighed and hugged us both. "Alright...you get one freebie." I grinned.
"I gotta get hurt more often..." I said. "...if it means getting away with stuff."
"No!" Budder stated. "You can't get hurt anymore. You ain't allowed."
"No...I guess I ain't." I said. "Apparently, you and the Princesses agree on that one."
"What do you mean?" Budder asked.
"I guess everypony is getting tired of seeing me close to death all the damned time." I said. "So I'm not allowed to go on dangerous missions anymore." I huffed. "At least we don't have to worry about money for a good long time...and I guess that means we get to spend more time together at home."
"I like that idea!" Budder grinned. "More hangout time! Maybe I can teach you how to play videogames!"
"Like heck I can learn!" I shot back with a grin.
"And we can use some hangout time...of our own..." Dash added. She smiled sweetly. "...you know..."
"Unnngghhhhhh!" My sister complained, sliding off of the hospital bed and onto the floor. I chuckled. Fifteen, and still overreacting to anypony's sexual innuendos. My sister had never dated or shown any interest in any colt I'd seen, and I wondered to myself what she would do when she started dating. Probably scare them off. I chuckled again. Make my job easier.
"Um...Lieutenant Dragoon Sabre?" A nurse called softly, entering the ward. My family stood aside to give her room.
"Yes ma'am?" I answered. The nurse, a younger mare with a light yellow coat and brown mane looked over a chart before turning her attention back to me.
"Well, the doctor says that if nothing changes, you should be good to go home tomorrow morning." She said. "You're still going to need plenty of bed rest for the next couple weeks, and you're being prescribed a couple things that should help keep your heart in check. Sound good?"
"The going home thing sounds pretty good." I said. "No offense to you or the staff here, but I prefer my own cooking over an IV bag any day." She gave me a small laugh. "Now...I know how this stuff goes, nurse...so tell me, what's the damage?" She cocked her head. "You know, how bad is it, really?"
"Well sir..." She sighed. "According to your chart, your heart was somewhat unstable before. Your attending physician stated that years of undue stress and tension had resulted in a weakening of your cardiovascular tissues, leading to their slow degeneration, as well as a type of cardiac arrhythmia during periods of extreme stress. I'm sorry, do you understand all of this terminology?"
"All too well." I replied. "Go on, ma'am."
"Well anyhow, your heart is degenerating slowly, as I said. Your doctor stated it was all due to stress, mainly from your job. He also said something about a..." She glanced at a page of the chart. "An addiction and overuse of stimulants...Lieutenant?"
"Oh...heheheh...a pot and a half of coffee a day...ma'am." I answered. She stared blankly at me. "Strong coffee..."
"That doesn't help things much, you know that, right?" She advised.
"I know."
"Sir...the medicine will help keep your heart stable if you take them as prescribed. But it isn't a cure, I want you to understand that. The damage done to your heart during your heart attack...that will never heal. It complicated an already bad situation. I'm not trying to scare you, Lieutenant. You probably have a good long while..."
"But eventually, it's gonna take me out." I stated the obvious.
"Yes sir." The nurse said gravely. I sighed, and Dash and Budder held my forehooves.
"It's alright...something's gotta take us all down sooner or later." I said to my family. "And me? Not yet. I already promised you that. And I promise I'm gonna try and take care of myself so I can be here for a while too." I knew they were still worried. Why wouldn't they be? why shouldn't I be? Who knew how long I had? Might as well make the best of the life I had. I smiled at Dash and Budder. "Know what else I promise?"
"What?" They said in unison.
"When we get home and I rest up for a while, we're going on a vacation. A LONG vacation. Anywhere you want."
"Ponyville?" Dash asked.
"Sure thing."
So ends Drake's darkest assignment, and the closest he's come to dying since Volume Two. What did you think? It's been a bumpy ride, both the story and everything that's happened to me while writing it. Now the story is over, and I can take a couple of days to focus on resolving the issues plaguing my own life...however that may be. I may return in a few days with the beginning of the next volume. If I do not, there is a good reason for that, and I'll leave it to my proxy to finish the final two volumes of Drake's story. Thank you all so much for reading, and for your reviews, through this story and all of them in the series. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone. I hope I will return to you soon. -Drake